Securing elastic tires to wheels.



UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

VILLIAM FREDERICK WILLIAMS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

lSECURING ELASTIC T'IREES TO WHEELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,012,dated-September 3, 1901.

To all whom, if; maf/ zj concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAMFREDERIOK WILLIAMS, gentleman, a subject ofthe King of Great Britain, residing at 17 and 18 Great Pulteney street,Golden Square,London, England, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Securing Elastic Tires to Wheels, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in securing an elastic tire to theWheel-rim by means of a band so applied. as to bind the base of the tireor tire-cover toits seat in the grooved wheel-rim; and the imggovementshave for their object to prevent citting'ofthe-P4 tire or its cover, asthe case may be, by the edges of the holdingson band and to preventcreeping of the tire upon the wheel-rim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein-L Figure 1is a cross-section, and Fig. 2 is a part longitudinal section, of a tireas secured to the wheel-rim. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portionof the inner face of the band straightened out, showing thejointingsleeve and tightening-screw. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of atire, showing the band as applied to'grip the inturned flanges of thetirecover. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the band used inFig. et.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a is the elastic tire, of D orapproximately D section, and b is the holding-on band, passing throughthe tire and clamping the base thereof to its seat in the grooved rim oof the Wheel. The tire may be made of rubber or other suitable materialand may or may not have embedded in it a fibrous cord or cords extendingcircumferentially around the bore of the tire or` ing drawn or othersuitable material, such as vulcanized fiber, for instance. The metal ormaterial must also be capable of being easily bent to the curvature ofthe wheel-rim when the tire a, with the band b and sheaths d passedthrough it, is lapped around the wheel- Applioation filed April 13,1901. Serial No. 55,749. (No model.)

rim c. The sheaths d are drawn or otherwise brought to the form oflongitudinallyslitted tubes, the slit being preferably just Wide enoughto admit the thickness of the band o, so that the sheaths will grip theband sufficiently to remain in position thereon while the whole is beingslipped through the tire. When thus inserted, the sheaths present to thesides of the tire externally-rounded surfaces of considerable areacompared with the narrow edges of the band b, which they inclose, andcause the pressure and friction to be so distributed as to avoid allliability ofv theltire being torn or cut by pressure against the edgesof the band. As the sheaths are merely slipped on to the edges of theband, they are free to accommodate themselves to a certain extent to thepressure with which the band is pressed against the base of the tire,and in order to prevent the tire from creeping around the wheelrim thereare punched or otherwise formed in the band l) at frequent intervalsthroughout its length holes or slots e, into which the base f of thetire becomes squeezed or pressed when the band is drawn tight, so as toform a sufficient-ly interlocking engagement to prevent all relativemotion of the tire and band in the circumferential direction. Theseapertures c would preferably be of rectangular form, as shown, theirends being transverse and presenting sharp or square arrises,where by toobtain a grip of the compressible material forming the basefof the tire.In order to insure the latter being pressed into the slots, a bedding orpacking-up piece g, formed of cord or other suitable material, may belapped around and cemented or otherwise secured to the wheel-rim c or tothe base of the tire at the kmiddle of its width, (or the rim c might berolled with a central rib or corrugation to take the place of thiscord,) so as to cause the slotted portion of the band b to bear hardupon the corresponding portion of the base f of the tire notwithstandingthe offset produced by the projection of the sheaths and so insure thesqueezing of the compressible material of the base f into the slots c ofthe band and such firm engagement of the tire therewith that allcreeping of the tire will be prevented. The slots e toward the free endof the band may serve also for IOO the engagement with the band of thedevice, whereby to apply the necessary tension to the band for thepurpose of clasping the base f of t-he tire firmly to the wheel-rim. Thepreferred form of device for this purpose consists of a Ascrew-stem h,Fig. 3, terminating at its outer end in a hook i, adapted to be engagedin one of the slots e, the screw passing through a h ole or slit in thebase fof the tire, through a hole in the wheel-rim c, and through aguide-socket traversing the Wheelfelly in an inclined direction, thescrew being engaged by a nut at the end of a rotatable sleeve j,received in the socket and bearing against a shoulder therein, so aswhen turned to draw on the screw and so tighten the band. As thisparticular form of tightener, however, forms the subject of a previousapplication for Letters Patent, it is not here claimed.

In the case of a tire formed of a springcushion Z, inclosed in adetachable cover m, as in Fig. 4, the holding-on band b would be appliedto clasp the inturned flanges n of the cover, as shown. The band wouldbe provided with sheaths d, inclosing the edges of the band as before,but instead of a single row of slots e there would be a double row, asat 0 in Fig. 5, these slots being in the part of the band which comesupon the flanges n of the tire-cover, as indicated in Fig. et. Theflanges n are formed integrally with the cover 'm and of rubber or oflayers of rubber-coated canvas, so as to possess the necessary tensilestrength and the compressibility required to allow them to be squeezedinto the slots o of the band sufficiently to cause such an interlockinggrip as to prevent creeping of the tire.

It will be understood that instead of rectangular slots holes of roundor other form may be used, and instead of being punched completelythrough the band b they may be mere cavities or depressions punched orotherwise formed in the under surface of the band, so that the materialot' the basef or flanges n (as the case may be) will enter said cavitiesor depressions sufficiently to enable the desired grip or interlockingengagement with the band to be obtained. f

In order to prevent creeping of the tubular beadings or sheaths drelatively to the band b and tire, the sheaths may be partially notchedout on the side which bears against the base of the tire or tire-cover.Such notches may be formed, as shown in Fig. 3, by rnaking pairs ofcross-cuts in the edge of the sheath d at intervals and bending down orclenching against the band b the portion y intervening between thecross-cuts of a pair. The end of the holding-on band b, which isnon-adjustably secured to the wheel-rim c 6o when the band is beingtightened up, the

band and sheaths having been previously cut to such length that the freeends thereof will not quite meet the iiXed ends when the band is fullytightened up, the socket thus covering the joint in the band andcrossing the joint in the tire, which joint would preferably be situatedat the same point in the circumference as the screw p.

I claiml. The combination, with the holding-on band for a hollow elastictire or tire-cover, of sheaths or headings for the edges of the band,formed of longitudinally-slitted tubes embracing the edges of the bandand presenting a rounded external surface to contact with the sides ofthe tire or tire-cover, as described.

2. The combination, with a holding-on band for an elastic tire, oflongitudinally-slitted tubular sheaths embracing the edges of the band,the sheaths being notched at intervals, as and for the purposedescribed.

3. The combination with the holding-on band for a hollow elastic tire ortire-cover, and with longitudinally-slitted tubular sheaths or headingsfor the edges of the band, of a jointcovering socket secured to theiixed end of the band and to the wheel-rim and adapted to form a guidefor the free end of the band and sheaths when being tightened up,substantially as specified.

4. The combination with a rubber tire of D-section, of a holding-on bandapplied to clasp the base of the tire to the wheel-rim, longitudinally-slitted tubular sheaths embracing the edges of the band and interveningbetween them and the adjacent sides of the tire or tire-cover, a row orrows ot' holes or cavities in the band, and a circumferential projectionon the tire-seat in the wheel-rim opposite the row orrows of holes orcavities, so as to force the material of the tire-base into interlockingengagement with said holes or cavities in the band, as described.

WILLIAM FREDERICK WILLIAMS. lfVitnesses:

T. W. KENNARD, C. C. M. GIBSON.

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